This amazing teenager came out to her homophobic family on Instagram, and it rocked
We’ve all been there.
You’re terrified, unsure of how to tell your family that you’re not the straight person they assumed you were.
And worse – they’re homophobic.
For 17-year-old Ellisa, it wasn’t just an opportunity to reveal her true self.
Unbeknownst to her, it was also an opportunity to become an idol to thousands.
Brilliantly, Ellisa came out on Instagram, using photos and videos of her at the Chicago Pride parade alongside a heartfelt message revealing her sexuality.
She wrote: “It’s terrifying thinking you’re alone in this world.
“It’s even more terrifying thinking the people closest to you, whether that be family or friends, will think of you differently for something you really can’t change about yourself.
“It’s terrifying having to hide a huge part of your life. Life is terrifying.
“But what I do know is you shouldn’t be terrified of love. nobody should ever make you feel terrified of something so beautiful. Today I felt love. Not in a way I’ve ever felt before.”
She added that she wished she “could’ve felt that feeling sooner,” before composing an uplifting message about coming out.
“I hope you all feel love. I want you to know there’s people out there that love you, no matter what. We all love you.
“I hope you never feel the need to hide who you are. You’re not wrong for feeling the way you do.
“Please, forever, never let anyone make you feel like what you feel is wrong. Please, forever, love you. And never stop.”
And then, the revelation.
“I’m gay and I f***ing love me. And that shouldn’t be a secret.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVyU5tRgCea/?taken-by=ellisuhhh&hl=en
And to make her coming out day even better, she follows up this gutsy, emotive move by going viral on Twitter.
She posted saying: “Guess Who Just Came Out To Their Homophobic Family Via Instagram “, with two photos accompanied by the words: “Me, bitch!”
Guess Who Just Came Out To Their Homophobic Family Via Instagram pic.twitter.com/w9dvUKObim
— vegan foot (@ellisuhhh) June 26, 2017
The post has received more than 80,000 retweets and likes, as well as a flood of supportive messages.
Ellisa, whose 18th birthday is next week, admitted in the comments that she was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with skateboard magazine Thrasher’s logo as a disguise for the parade.
“I had to leave my house incognito in this so my mom wouldn’t know I was going to pride,” she wrote, alongside numerous other hilarious, revealing tweets.
my mom gonna beat my ass if I get a tattoo but she’d also beat my ass if I get a gf so what I’m sayin is that i wanna kill 2 birds w 1 stone
— vegan foot (@ellisuhhh) July 5, 2017
The tweet has earned her some fame, but Ellisa has stayed grounded, commenting on Twitter: “I know nothing other than maybe this is just Ashton Kutcher punking me”.
She added that when it came to reading her own material, she had “tunnel vision. I see nothing but my headass tweets”.
